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Fever (book series)
The Fever Series is a young adult book series by American author G. R. Ross. The novels depict the life of a nameless young man in an abusive household dealing with the issues of alcoholism, drug addiction, sexuality, and love. With the only named characters being James, the protagonist's best friend, and George, the character's father, there has been much speculation as to whether the series is fiction or autobiographical. The main story arc surrounds the protagonist's psychological struggles and personal connections, similar to the American classic, The Catcher In The Rye. When asked about the book's inspiration, G. R. Ross continuously declines to share any information, stating it should be up to the reader to form their own opinion of it. This nuanced view of literature is what critics claim drew in flocks of teenagers to support the series. 'Plot' Since the protagonist is an unreliable narrator, the true chronology of the series is left to much debate. Many fans believe that the third book in the series,'' Hell is Cold'', is really a prequel, while others claim it is a display of the protagonist losing his sanity at the end of the second book, Trojan Horse, and the entire last installation is merely a hallucination of the character. The first book, Fever, begins with the protagonist dealing with his abusive father's refusal to support him going to college, since the main character had achieved perfect scores on every advanced English exam and had been accepted into an Ivy League university, the cost would have been sizable. Unable to manage enrolling in the most rigorous courses at his high school and his father's hatred simultaneously, the protagonist is seen falling into major depression and mental turmoil. The rest of the book involves his falling out with many of the popular individuals in his social circles, being labeled creepy and manipulative, and ending up with only his best friend James and his strange acquaintance only known as Knave. At the end of the first book there is no clear conclusion, with the protagonist stealing his father's car and driving into the mountains, which spurred readers to beg for a sequel when the cryptic author offered no sign of continuing the narrative. Trojan Horse, the second installation in the'' Fever Series'', picks up one year after the end of'' Fever'', leading many confused as to events between the books. As of 2018, still no canonical data has been presented by the author. The protagonist seemingly graduated high school during the narrative gap, and is now struggling to get by as an editor in his hometown. This book is by far focused on romance the most in the series, with a woman simply referenced as Minx manipulating the protagonist into the palm of her hand. The reader watches as he loses himself to faux feelings of affection and adoration, and by the end of the book he is completely controlled by the woman. It displays the similarities between his relationship with Minx and the abuse he suffered from his father, bringing much conversation to the susceptibility of victims of abuse to fall into it again. Only when James finds out what is happening does the protagonist snap out of his daze. The last chapter consists of him slowly losing his grasp on reality after his violent breakup with Minx before getting into a car with only the clothes on his back and pressing the gas pedal, once again leaving the book open like the previous. The final book in the series is paradoxically titled'' Hell is Cold'', and was published with no warning from author G. R. Ross. While the other two installations are somewhat decipherable, the plot of Hell is Cold is not chronological and therefore must be pieced together by the reader. Much of the book is the protagonist analyzing his past and his life, with an extremely pessimistic view theorized to be an effect of his depression and withdrawal from many of the drugs abused during Trojan Horse. A particularly straightforward chapter informs the reader that he is leaving the city, but the final destination is not described, and the protagonist keeps reassuring himself he will be fine over and over again until the chapter ends. Many wonder if this is where the character died, since none of the other illogical chapters in the book signify him living after his breaking point. There are thousands of fan groups dedicated to just figuring out the real story and timeline of the book, and even more confused blog posts created after finishing it. 'Characters' *'The Narrator' — Although he almost never describes himself, preferring to focus on the events and people around, it is possible to assume that he is a young man in his late teens when the series begins. Having scored perfectly on all his exams and accepted into the best schools his state has to offer, the protagonist finds himself faced with the same problem he has been dealing with his entire life: his father. *'James '— The narrator's best and only friend. He is described as roughly 5'9, with blue eyes and an "infectious smile." James is the one of the very few characters the narrator describes in a positive light, proof of just how important James' presence is to the narrator. He is the one who anchors him. *'George '— With very little backstory, George is the narrator's father, a man painted as "cold in his good days, vicious and hateful in his bad." In many ways, he is the antagonist of the first installment, Fever, standing in the way of his son's ambition and possibly being the cause of his later struggles with drugs and relationships. He makes only a brief appearance in Trojan Horse, to then being completely absent in Hell Is Cold. ''This may be because of the nonsensical nature of the third book. *'Knave'' — Knave is one of the narrator's childhood acquaintances, although they never have been close. He appears sporadically when it is expected the least. *'Minx '— A woman involved with the narrator for some of ''Fever and most of Trojan Horse. She is of average height, with hair dyed blonde and eyes described as "enticing, to whom it was impossible to say no." She turns out to be manipulative and cunning, traits the protagonist willingly leans into as he tries to cut all ties with his father and previous life. '''Critical Reception The early reviews of the first book were surprisingly critical, but after an uproar of public support, they gradually shifted into more positive perspectives. Since the publishing company of G. R. Ross refused to disclose any information about the author, many critics felt they were free to attack the series with no response. What they faced, however, was a dedicated fanbase who completely ruined their public reputations. This did generate some questions regarding ethics within the community, but the majority of this occured in small doses. The New York Times ''was the biggest advocate for the series, vouching for it on multiple occasions. Fever'' was listed as #1 on the Best-Sellers chart for nine weeks in a row from March to May of 2010. The first book won a Westchester Fiction Award in 2010 and was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2011, and in 2014 was named one of the most important young adult novels of the century by the U.S. National Education Association. As of 2018, the series altogether has sold over 30 million copies. 'Controversy' As with many realistic portrayals of drug addiction, domestic abuse, controversial views of religion, vulgar language, smoking, and mental health, the series has been targeted by parents for being too graphic and corrupting the minds of young teens. The narrator's sexuality has also been one of the central points of debate. Fever deals with the homophobia and harassment the narrator is subjected to after the undesired outing of his having a crush on another boy at school, whereas ''Hell Is Cold ''depicts a few graphically homosexual scenes. Many schools and libraries have all three books blacklisted, but that has not reflected on overall sales, and rather it created a Streisand effect that only invigorated the series' fanbase. Since the book is a recent addition to literature, it has not suffered the intense conservative backlash of other controversial classics. The author neglected to fight back against censorship associations, only stating he wished the truth was not obscured.